It’s great to learn that Monongah’s
schools are as fabulous as they were three score and seven years ago, to come
within one score of matching the beginning of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Addresss,
when I was irritating the teachers.
In my good ol’ days, Sister Agnes at
Sts. Peter and Paul School was instilling a passion for grammar and words in me
and Mary Turkovich, who was wicked in her worn girls’ basketball bloomers when faculty
faced off against students and determined that you would not NOT learn math,
algebra and geometry in her classroom at the foot of the stairs to the second
floor, crammed into my psyche what would serve me financially in life,
including 21 years of retirement, that made it possible for me to travel to 55
countries, 44 states and take 13 cruises.
 |
| John Olesky at Miss Turkovich's grave |
I owe much of what I am today to Sister
Agnes, Mary Turkovich and the people of Monongah who helped my parents rear me
by trying to keep me on the straight on narrow, which was not an easy task.
My daughter is a fantastic teacher in
the Aurora, Ohio school system. So much so that they give her keys to the
building because she is there till 7 or 8 p.m. weekdays and comes in on Saturdays and
Sundays so that she can do better by her students.
I gave her the highest
compliment I could think of: The Mary Turkovich of Aurora Schools.
Sister Agnes, Mary Turkovich, my
daughter LaQuita are SO valuable to society.
Well, Paula Cook McIntire belongs in
that hallowed company, too, as 2017 Marion County Teacher of the Year for her exemplary
influence at Monongah Elementary.
She’s a first grade teacher. That’s the
portal to school life for her students. When Paula makes them comfortable with
their surroundings and eager to learn, it will stick with them through – as it did with me –
elementary, middle school, high school and college.
Being recognized for her exceptional teaching is nothing new for
Paula. In 2016 she received
the Fairmont State University Professional Development School Partnership
Excellence in Teaching award.
Paula was a cheerleader during her Monongah
Middle School days. Now she’s a cheerleader and guide for the most precious
among us, the young first graders.
Paula’s path to her decade at Monongah
Elementary took her to North Marion High, where she was in the Class of 1989;
Fairmont State, for her batchelor’s degree in early education; to West Virginia
University, where I was a Journalism School graduate, for her master’s in
reading; and as a substitute teacher in Marion County, at Barnes and Rivesville
Elementary, where my sister, Jackie Olesky Straight, Class of 1955, who still
lives in Rivesville, was a substitute teacher in the Rivesville system for more than 20 years.
Her husband is Chris McIntire, director of Marion County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. That makes the McIntires a couple who are both doing good things for others.
Paula’s husband Chris and Stephanie
McIntire’s husband
since 2008, Dale McIntire, are first cousins.
I have visited Mary Turkovich’s grave with
my children and grandchildren by my side and told them, “This is a real
American hero, a teacher who refused to let her students NOT learn.”
Paula, I think Miss Turkovich is smiling
down on you today and saying: “Well done, faithful servant to the children of
Monongah. You have carried on my tradition.”
There are a lot of McIntires in Monongah
school history, but I’m not sure where Paula fits into the family tree.
For example:
Cheryl
“Sherry” Diane McIntire, Class of 1975.
Gene
McIntire, the late Keith Dorman “Legs” Beckner’s seatmate on an Honor Flight to
Washington, D.C. for those who served in the military as long ago as World War
II, a trip that my Paula’s father, Paul (yes, they added an “a” to her dad’s
name to come up with her name), also took. It was a memory of a lifetime for
Paul Stone, who helped make America safe for democracy.
Lela
Pudder McIntire, who grew up in Worthington but lives in Bingamon and is not related to Paula.
I’m
everyone in Monongah is as proud of Paula McIntire as I am.
And
Mary Turkovich is.
The Fairmont Times article about Paula McIntire:
‘Back at the school I
grew up in’
Marion County Teacher of the Year
Paula McIntire comes full circle
- By Carter
Walker | Times West Virginian
- MONONGAH — From an early
age, Paula McIntire knew she wanted to be a teacher.
“The kids are just good
kids here,” McIntire, a first-grade teacher at Monongah Elementary, said. “I love
my job, and I think that makes it easier when you love coming to work every
day.”
McIntire grew up in
Monongah, at the top of Swisher Hill Road, and went to Monongah Elementary in
the 1970s when it was brand new.
“It’s nice to be back at
the school I grew up in,” McIntire said. “It’s like coming home.”
The former Monongah
student turned teacher has been named the Marion County Teacher of the Year for
2017.
Teaching in the same
school that she attended in her youth is a comfortable experience, McIntire said,
and it enables her to connect easier with her students because she knows many
of their parents and relatives.
After moving to Monongah
Middle School, McIntire began cheerleading, a passion she maintained throughout
high school and college.
It was through
cheerleading that McIntire said her passion for teaching was cultivated.
“I think that kind of
led me down the right path,” McIntire said. “I think cheerleading does help you
along the way.”
She said the structure
of cheerleading, keeping up her grades and the mentors she met prepared her for
teaching. The team, as well as individual, efforts required for cheerleading
translate in teaching skills. McIntire said.
After graduating from
North Marion High School in 1989, McIntire attended Fairmont State University,
where she obtained a batchelor’s degree in early education.
Her education wasn’t
over, though, and she went on to earn a master’s in reading from West Virginia
University.
After college, McIntire
worked as a substitute teacher for a time, and also at Barnes Learning Center
and Rivesville Elementary School.
But for the past 10
years, McIntire has served at the place where it all began, Monongah
Elementary.
“This is where my heart
is,” McIntire said.
“Paula is a very
kid-driven, student-driven teacher,” Monongah Elementary School principal Rob
Moore said.
One of the biggest
benefits that McIntire brings to the school is her outreach work with FSU,
Moore said. She serves as the school’s professional development coordinator,
which means she mentors students from FSU who are earning their education
degree.
Six of the teachers at
Monongah Elementary are former pupils of McIntire.
“They call me Momma Mac,” she said. “I make sure while they’re here
that they’re part of the faculty, part of the staff.”
Ana Suter is a teacher
at Monongah Elementary who once shadowed McIntire. She said she learned a lot
from McIntire about classroom management.
"She is a great
leader here at the school,” Suter said. “I did my clinicals with her, and she
was great getting me on the right track to becoming a good teacher.”
Moore said McIntire is
very organized, which is important for young learners.
“Paula is not only a
teacher in the classroom, but she is a friend and a mentor and a good partner
and a team player for this whole school,” Moore said.
McIntire said that
working at Monongah is a great experience because of the connectedness of the
staff. She said that the award belongs to the whole school, which she called
wonderful, and she hope she has represented the school well.
While teaching has its
challenges, McIntire said it is very rewarding. She said she loves her kids,
past and present, and hope they love her too.
“When you see them come
down the hallway, you get those hugs and those little smiles on their faces,”
McIntire said. “It just makes you feel like I did my job for the day.”
